The career limbo of several former Colorado and Colorado State football players is near an end.

That labor settlement allows NFL teams to conduct their annual land grab of rookie free agent talent. Usually the undrafted players are taken within hours of the end of the draft. The labor dispute left all those summer camp hopefuls awaiting their future.

For CU, fan favorite linebacker B.J. Beatty and wide receiver Travon Patterson would be likely candidates for a call.

CSU’s Zac Pauga brings a dimension as a true fullback for an NFL offense while Scott Albritton is marketable as a long snapper if recovered from ACL surgery. Local favorite Ricky Brewer should also get a look.

Linebacker Ricky Brewer, who might move to safety if he gets an NFL opportunity, turned in a 37 inch vertical leap along with running back Leonard Mason. They both ran their 40s in the 4.5 second range.
Fullback Zac Pauga, long snapper Scott Albritton and offensive tackle Mark Starr also drew some interest.

It was one of the most remarkable statements ever by an athlete in following a losing (or winning) post-game interview.

After Colorado State fifth-year senior Ricky Brewer finished discussing how he’ll never forget the enormity of the 49-10 loss to BYU in his final Hughes Stadium appearance, he offered some impromptu remarks.

When the cameras stopped rolling, he said he wanted to thank everyone in the area media for “not throwing him under the bus” in 2009. He referred to his junior year suspension for a positive drug test at the 2008 New Mexico Bowl.

He more than finished paying his penance for what many consider the most minor of victimless infractions. Brewer talked endlessly to youth groups about his mistake and announced it up front to the media in the preseason to put it behind him.

The linebacker was an asset to the team all five years, whether he played or not. He deserved much more team success on the field than he experienced.

Colorado State linebacker Alex Williams (51) drags down Colorado's Scotty McKnight in last year's game in Boulder. Williams will be a key player for the Rams this season. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

In the seventh part of a series of look-aheads at Colorado State’s 2010 season, broken down by units, we look at the Rams’ linebacking corps…

Newcomers: Mike Orakpo, although technically a true freshman, signed with the 2009 class, enrolled late and had the benefit of spring ball as a safety. He will get on the field even though the two outside linebackers, Ricky Brewer and Mychal Sisson, are the two best players on the defense.

Biggest losses: Again, a technicality, but Davis Burl moves to defensive end where he will likely start.

Strengths: The defensive strength going into the season although the defensive line has exceeded all expectations. Middle linebacker Alex Williams has had an outstanding camp. Orakpo provides an outstanding rotation.

Weaknesses: Brewer’s ineligibility and an injury epidemic made the linebackers the weakest defensive link a year ago. Some of the depth still needs to be proven.

What to look for: For the first time since before current defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Larry Kerr left following the 2002 season, season CSU has a chance to establish a dominating linebacking corps.

If there is anyone out there who went to any college within the last 40-50 years and did not take one breath of marijuana, this does not apply to you.

There, I completely eliminated the audience.

For the rest of you mortals, CSU fans and foes (especially those within an hour north or south of Fort Collins) cut out the comments about a youthful mistake. How many of you paid the price (short of jail time) that CSU linebacker Ricky Brewer paid for one bad drug test?

Marijuana falls under the NCAA’s heading of street drugs, which is true because it seems medical marijuana stores or “hydroponic” growing outlets have popped up on nearly every street corner along the Front Range. Brewer sidestepped the issue as “political,” repeating over and over Saturday that he made a “mistake.”

The NCAA takes a random sample of competitors and forces them to undergo drug testing before postseason events. If you don’t sign a waiver for testing, you don’t play. Individual schools may require more tests. If anyone took a random drug sampling of 100 or so college students on any campus, how many would come back positive?

Brewer’s suspension wasn’t the reason CSU finished 3-9 last year. His teammates and coaches have obviously forgiven him by naming him captain. Running back Chris Nwoke said “Now he can have a burden off his back and just start to play.”

Since the beginning of time, Colorado State has hosted a free community pancake breakfast at Hughes Stadium prior to the spring game.

After post-breakfast boredom of a glorified practices the last two years, at least half (practice)-and-half (game) will be served.

The breakfast is a time-honored marketing tool. Get a plate of pancakes and pick up a season schedule and ticket purchase form in the process. I remember one year (he was only there for two spring games) when ex-athletic director Jeff Hathaway scraped the pancakes off the griddle.

It’s one of my favorite events because the pancakes are good and it’s symbolic of a very long August-to-early May work schedule nearing an end.

CSU coach Steve Fairchild promised an actual spring game this year.

There couldn’t be a better year to attract fans for a spring sneak peak at the Rams. Besides a chance to check at the quarterback battle of freshmen Pete Thomas and Nico Ranieri, transfer running back Raymond Carter is worth a look. It’s all a chance for fans to welcome back linebacker Ricky Brewer from a year’s suspension.

I know CSU folks never want to hear how Colorado does anything (and vice versa) but two weeks ago I saw a lot of energy pumped into the Buffs with a full draft and spring game. Captains were even calling teammates to tell them they were drafted.

Fairchild said on Wednesday’s Mountain West spring teleconference the seniors will “draft.” Starting at 10:15 a.m. the Rams will practice and hold a situational scrimmage. At noon a traditional Green and Gold game will follow for 50 or so plays.

Fans are welcomed on the field after the games to talk to players and coaches.

During the course of a football season, players or coaches will rarely admit “We don’t have any team leadership.”

In hindsight, leadership or a lack thereof is often pinpointed as one of those intangibles at least partly to blame for a disappointing season.

CSU coach Steve Fairchild didn’t want to come right out and say the Rams had little team leadership last season. He just noted there looks to be improved leadership going into this season.

Citing seniors Zac Pauga, Eric Peitz and Ricky Brewer, Fairchild said “There are not only players but they are the type of people than can take your football team and take your locker room and make sure the right type of thing is going on.”

I came away very impressed with my first (and certainly not to be the last) interview with UCLA transfer Raymond Carter. The running back was primarily an observer last fall as a redshirt transfer. But he wasn’t oblivious to the issues of a 3-9 season.

“I want to step up and be one of the more vocal guys on this team,” Carter said. “Leadership is what we lacked last year. This year is going to be different. I think everyone is buying in. No one wants a repeat of what happened last year.”

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.